12 April 2008, 12:46
Grigoryan: international sanctions could settle the political crisis in Armenia
In the opinion of Stepan Grigoryan, head of the Analytical Centre for Globalization and Regional Development, the present internal political situation in Armenia is so serious that the general appeals to the authorities to hold dialogue and release the arrested persons to not correct.
"The authorities are not capable of flexible steps, and all appeals remain unheard. In this situation, international sanctions against Armenia could be much more efficient. However, such sanctions should not be directed against the people of Armenia, and should have selective and pointwise character," the analyst has stated.
In particular, in his opinion, the sanctions should assume deprivation of visas to the countries of Europe, USA and Canada for Robert Kocharyan, Serzh Sarkisyan and, which is very important, the members of their families, and also for those officials and, first of all, representatives of power agencies who took part in "the terror against the population of Armenia and are still practising terror against citizens."
Further, in the opinion of the political scientist, the toughening measures should assume freezing the accounts of the above officials in foreign banks.
The third measure, which could be applied against Armenian authorities, in Stepan Grigoryan's opinion, could be a suspension of the mandate of the Armenian delegation in the Council of Europe. Also, the analyst thinks that the cooperation programmes of the EU and NATO with Armenia should be immediately suspended.
Author: Lilit Ovanisyan, CK correspondent
